The Joplin Globe on recognizing Indigenous peoples for Native American Heritage Month:

November is Native American Heritage Month, a time when we pay tribute to the many Indigenous peoples of the Americas, both past and present.

Native peoples populated the Americas long before any Europeans and other conquerors showed up. They unwillingly sacrificed so much as they were forcibly removed from their homes and massacred by invaders to make room for U.S. colonization and settlement.

According to the Library of Congress, one of the first proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian who persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans.” In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day.

Some states followed suit in the subsequent decades, but it wasn’t until 1990 that the U.S. had an official observation. That year, President George H. W. Bush approved a resolution designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month. Similar proclamations have been issued each year since 1994. Many area tribes have held events, educational seminars and exhibits this month to commemorate Native American Heritage Month. Their objective is to educate residents on their culture and spread awareness of who they are and what can be learned from their history.

“I think that people don’t realize that each one of us is different,” said Kim Garcia, cultural preservation officer for the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma. “We all have different cultures, we all have different languages, we all have different histories. This is a great time to share our culture so that it’s respected, not looked down upon.”

Native American Heritage Month is a great time to recognize the many contributions of Native peoples to today’s society: More than 50 present-day medications have been developed by examining the use of plant extracts in traditional Native medicines, according to the National Museum of the American Indian. The Olmec Peoples of Mesoamerica created rubber. Indigenous Andeans developed complex and extensive road networks and suspension bridges to distribute foods and resources. Native Americans were the first ranchers and producers of certain crops, such as corn, in the Americas.

But Native American Heritage Month shouldn’t end on Nov. 30. Acknowledging the U.S.’S often terrible history with Indigenous peoples and recognizing the many ways they have helped shape the modern nation should continue all year long.